Drying apparatus



H. L. BOURNER DRYING APPARATUS Jan. 5, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5, 1950 INVENTOR. HOWARD BOURNER BY W 119M2 0 5W ATTORNEYS Jan. 5, 1954 H. L. BOURNER 2,664,646

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 5, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 x mm s 1 INVENTOR. 344 327 HOWARD BOURNER i )Z Maud ATTORNEYS Jan. 5, 1954 H. L. BOURNER 2,664,646

DRYING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 5, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. HOWARD BOURNER ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRYING APPARATUS Howard L. Bourner, Nashville, Tenn., assignor to Temco, Inc., Nashville, Tenn, a corporation of Tennessee 4 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for the drying of material such as clothing or the like.

The invention will be described mainly in the form of a domestic clothes drying apparatus, although it will be apparent as the description proceeds that the invention is not limited to this particular use and may find application in the drying of many other types of materials.

The invention in general involves the passing of a drying medium, such as heated air, through 3 the material to be dried and also includes means for arresting the exhaust of portions of the material, such as lint in the drying of fabrics. The arresting means also includes an arrangement for directing the exhausted dry medium either into the room in which the dryer is located, or through a conduit to a point outside the room.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is the providing of apparatus which will efliciently dry material such as clothing.

A further object of the invention is the means for arresting the exhaust of portions of the material being dried.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for arresting portions of the material, which arresting means will be readily accessible for cleaning and may exhaust into the room in which the dryer is located or to a point outside the room.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for arresting the associated portions of the material, this arresting means being arranged to permit continued exhaust of the heated medium even if the arresting means becomes clogged.

Further objects and the entire scope of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and from the appended claims. The following detailed description is given for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

A better understanding of the invention may be had with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a partial cross section of the apparatus in Figure 1;

Figure 2a shows a portion of the cross-section of the apparatus shown in Figure 2 arranged to vent to the front of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the heatin apparatus of my invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the lint trap or arresting means of my invention.

Referring now to Figure l, the apparatus is comprised of the container structure indicated generally as [0 through which a path for a drying medium extends from a heating unit, indicated generally at 2, to an exhaust area indicated generally by M, the latter being located at the lower end of the container structure H).

The path extending between heating unit l2 and exhaust area I4 consists in part of a drying chamber, indicated by the dash line it. The material to be dried is placed in the chamber I 6 through a door I 8 hingedly mounted on the front surface of the container l0. The chamber IB preferably has mounted therein a rotatable basket 20 which serves to tumble the material and expose all of the surfaces of the material to the drying medium. The basket 20 is open at the forward end to receive the material through the door I 8, and is perforated or constructed of woven wire so that the drying medium will easily pass through the basket.

After passing through the chamber I 6 and basket 20, the drying medium is drawn out of the chamber [6 into a manifold 22 by means of a centrifugal blower 24 which is operatively interconnected with the manifold 22. The blower 24 has its output end interconnected with the structure at the exhaust area I 4, the arrangement being such that the heating medium, which may now contain lint or other material, is passed through an arresting means 26 before being exhausted either to the front or the rear of the container Ill. The arresting means 26 is in the nature of a perforated panel and will be described in greater detail below. The arresting means 26 and its arrangement in the apparatus comprises an important part of the invention.

The blower 24 and the basket 2e are both arranged to be driven from a single motor 28 by means of suitably arranged belting.

Having described the general arrangement of the component parts of the apparatus, description in greater detail of these components will now be given.

Referring now to Figure 2, the container If! is provided with a vertical panel H0 which separates the drying chamber l6 from the area to the rear of the panel H0, thus providing a space for the necessary driving means for the blower 24 and the basket 20.

The revolving basket 20 is mounted in cantilever fashion for rotation in a suitable bearing H2. The bearing H2 is in turn mounted in a {,9 supporting column lid which extends upwardly from the base of the apparatus along the rear surface of the panel sec. The support H4 will be of fairly heavy material and reinforced to absorb the forces of a sizable load in the tumbling basket 25 The basket 2:! is provided with an embossed back member H6 to create a rigid interconnection of the basket with the shaft extending through the bearing H2. This shaft,

designated as MS, is equipped at its outer end with a pulley I it which is driven by the motort28 through a suitable belt.

Referring next to Figure 3 for a description of the heating unit 52, a .portion: of the wall of chamber 55 is cut away. t'andtturneds outwardly at points 2H3 and M2 to provide mounting shoulders for the unit l2. It will be understood that this opening in the wall of chamber it extends from the front to the rear of the chamber, forming an elongated opening substantially equal to the length of the basket 20.

A mixing manifold 28 3 is provided-for producing a plurality of flame jets extendingin: line substantially the length of the basket 26. The

manifold; it is enclosed within forward andrear walls between bottom plate 216 and an outer baffle 2&8. A guiding baffle 220 is also provided, this baiilebeing mounted on the bottom plate-2 it at the point 222. The bottom-plate fit is provideo. with aseries-of apertures 224 extending the length of the heating unit 52. The guiding bafiie 22B. is also provided with a series of apertures are similarly extending the length ofqthe heating unit i2. With the structureasthus far described, it will-accordingly be; understood that with the. blower 2d operating, apartial vacuum will be created adjacent theaperturesJZZfi to cause air to; be drawn in through-theapertures 222i and into proximity with'ithe heating manifold This air will accordingly be. heated by rthe flame issuing from the manifold 12M :before' it passes through the apertures 224.

The outer bafiie iii 8 at the'leftj sideinFigure 3 does not extend into contact with bottom plate BIB, but instead terminatesabove the latter.

As a result, an opening is'provided which'permits air to flow in the channel between bafiies 218 and 2%, as shown.

The air enters container lflthrough any suitable apertures in' the container H].

-It has been foundthat 'the'top surface'of' the container it may become very hot -immediately abovethe heating unit 12' if means are not provided for cooling this surface. "5T0 accomplish this cooling, an auxiliary baflle 228 is provided, z:

this baffle being spaced a'short distance from the bafile 268 along the uppermost portion 'of the latter. The bafllesfiifl and 228 accordingly form a rectangular channel through which air may pass to a vent section 230 opening into' the chamber it adjacent the previously-mentioned point 2H2. Accordingly; it .is clear that'the air passing through the'vent 233 is heated to a predetermined extent because-of the temperature of the baffle 2'i3,but the movement ofthe air also has the effect of limiting the temperature of the auxiliary bafiie 228 and by this arrangement the topof the container 10 does not become unduly heated. This is an important safety feature which will protect the operator from burns.

Referring now to Figures 2, 4, and 5,'the details of the exhaust unit will be described in detail. The manifold 22 collects the drying air from the chamber in through oblong vents 3-H], these vents preferably being located, as shown, approximately and. the. side plate Sit.

vsat the left hand side of the exhaust chamber adjacent the side plate 1H8.

This outlet is indicated by the numeral 322 in Figure 4. The opening 322 between the pump and the exhaust chami'ber islocated at a plate 32d which forms the rear end of'the chamber. Also located in the plate- 32% is an oval vent 325 extending to the rear of the container E0. The outer end of the ,avent1326 may be adapted for connection to a conduit which may in turn be led out of the room in which the apparatus is located.

' The forward end of the exhaust chamber is apartly'formed by a plate 328 which extends from the side plate 325:, covering the front of the chamher to an angle iron guide 333, located approximately midway between the plates 320 and Bit.

. The previously mentioned arresting means 25, which maybe also referred to as a lint trap; is adapted to be inserted in place through the remaining open portion of the front panel 328.

The lint trap may be best understood with reference to Figure 5. This unit consists of a .lowerplate 332 of suitable horizontal dimension to slide easily between the angle iron guide 33% The length of the plate 332 is moreover arranged to extend substantially from the front chamber plate 328 to therear -plate.. 324. -Mounted in a vertical position on the, plate 332.

the plate 332 is a perforated panel 33 this panel extending over only a portl'oncffthe length of That is, the front of .the panel -tfi lbegins at a. position spaced from the forward end of the plate 332 and'ends at a'position' wellin advance of the end of the plate 632.

*thepump exhaust opening 322.

. The. rearward edge of the panel 334 is also I equipped with a deflecting edge 33% which is bent outwardly'at anangle of about 30 away from At the forward end of the panel 33:? a similarly perforated panel 333 is mounted in a vertical position in a plane at right angles to the plane of panel Panel .333 extends from panel 335 to the extreme edge of the plate 332, all as shownin Figure 5. The forward edge of the plate 332 is bent upwardly to form the portion 3&6. Provision is then made, as by apertures 342, to attach a front plate E i-3 of such size as to complete the closing of the front of the exhaust chamber. A suitable handle '346 is attached to the upper edges of the panels 33 and 338, as shown in Figure 5, and the. arms of this handle extend through slots 343 in the upper edge of the plate 364. From the structure as thus far described, it will be apparent that the arresting means 25 may be inserted into the opening in the front of the exhaust chamber and pushed into this chamber with the plate 332 resting on the previously mentioned lower plate 3% until the front panel are is flush with the fixed front panel Any suitable latch may be employed to hold the unit in this position, or the unit may be retained by friction.

When inserted, the function of the arresting unit-2S in combination with the remainder of the apparatus is as follows: When the pump 24 is 5 operated, it will rapidly draw heated air through the chamber 16 and basket 20 into the manifold 22. The blower then exhausts this moist air, which will also contain lint, or portions of material being dried, through the opening 322 and in a path generally parallel to and to the left of the perforated panel 334 (as viewed in Figure 5). Since the height ofthe panels 334 and 338 is equal and substantially the same as the clearance between the panels3l i and 3%, the heated. air with the particles therein is forced either to pass through the perforated panels 334 and 338 or to pass around the rearward end of the panel 334. After passing in one of these two paths, the air will then be exhausted through the oval vent 323.

It will be immediately observed that due to the unique arrangement of the perforated panels 334 and 338 relative to the pump exhaust opening 322 and to the oval vent 326, the air will continue to pass through the perforated panels until these become cloggedv with arrested material. If that should happen, however, and the operatoris not present to remove and clean the arresting unit, then the air can pass behind the panel 334 and continue to exhaust through the vent 32B, and a complete clogging of the machine avoided. It will be understood that the spacing of the panel 338 from the front panel 34 provides a path forthe air to circulate to the right of panel 334 and into the vent 323.

As an alternative means of venting the complete apparatus, the front plate 344 of the arresting unit 26 may be removed by simply removing the bolts from holes 342. The air from the pump will then either pass through the panels 334, 333 or pass around the rear end of the panel 334 and then to the front. The vent 323 may then be closed as by a suitable cap 321' when this alternative means is used.

In the operation of the apparatus as described, it may be found that lint will accumulate in the forward end of the manifold 22. This is the end of the manifold 22 opposite the inlet to the blower 24. This accumulation of lint is caused by eddy currents in the air as the latter is drawn through the oblong apertures 3i 0 toward the exhaust end of the manifold. To avoid this undesirable accumulation of lint in the manifold. I provide one or more apertures est in the forward end of the manifold. Spaced inwardly from the aperture 350 is a circular baffle plate 352. This baffle plate is of a diameter substantially less than the diameter of the manifold so that a direct inflow of air through the aperture 353 is diverted toward the walls of the manifold 22, and yet this diverted air has an adequate path between the wall of the manifold and the outer edge of the baffle 352. The air drawn through the aperture 350 is from atmosphere and is not heated. In operation it will accordingly be understood that the air through the aperture 350 is limited in amount and does not interfere with the drying operation, but at the same time, is sufficient to cause lint to move to the rear in the manifold 22 and to be drawn through the blower 24.

The operation of the apparatus in a drying cycle may be by any convenient means and does not comprise any particular part of this invention. The heating manifold 2M may be provided with a pilot light which may be lighted through a convenient opening in the container It. A solenoid operated valve may then control the supply of gas to the manifold 2 l4 under the control of an electrical variable thermostat unit. Best results in the operation of this type of clothes drier are obtained when the heating and tumbling operation is continued until a predetermined temperature is reached within the chamber Hi. This type of control is considered preferable to a control which merely permits the drying operation to continue for a predetermined period of time. The door It may be adapted to operate a safety switch which will close the gas supply to the manifold 2M when the door is opened.

By the invention as described in the foregoing, which is concerned with the components of the path for the drying medium through the apparatus, it is clear thata very efiicient and versatile arrangement is provided. The control of the collection of lint in the process of exhausting the heated and moisture laden air is particularly important. The fact that the collection of lint is concentrated at one place in the removable lint trap means that only one point in the machine needs periodic cleaning. Furthermore, the automatic by-pass means, in case the lint tra becomes clogged, means that the operation of the machine will not be impaired if the operator should misjudge the need for removing collected lint. The fact that the exhaust may be readily changed from one path, directly into the room in which the drier is located, to another path through a conduit out of the room is very important in the use of the apparatus. Moreover, it is a very important feature of the apparatus that the lint arresting means and the automatic by-pass means is fully operative no matter whether the air is being exhausted into the immediate room, or through a conduit out of the room.

The foregoing detailed description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention has been made only for purposes of description and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It is realized that other arrangements for carrying out the invention may occur to those skilled in the art and, therefore, it is intended that the scope of the invention be determined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In drying apparatus, a drying chamber, manifold means having main air inlet means communicating with the chamber, pump means communicating with one end of the manifold for moving a drying medium from the chamber into the manifold, and means for preventing an accumulation of lint in the opposite end of the manifold, said means comprising relatively restricted minor air inlet means in the said opposite end of the manifold, and baffle means in proximity to said minor inlet, to direct incoming air into the adjacent corners of the manifold to move lint out of said corners.

2. In drying apparatus, a container structure having front and rear surfaces, means defining a delinting section located in the structure and extending between the front and rear surfaces, means to introduce a stream of lint laden air into the rear end of the delinting section, perforated panel means positioned in the main stream of air to trap lint, and means defining a rear opening and a front opening in the section, and removable closure means for selective fitting in said openings for selectively directing the escape of delinted air to the rear or front of the container structure.

3. In drying apparatus, a drying chamber, a

rotatable tumbling basket positioned in the drying chamber, air inlet and outlet openings in the chamber, pump means for moving air through the chamber and basket, heater means communicating with the chamber inlet for heating air entering the chamber, manifold means communicating with the chamber outlet opening for collecting air from the chamber, auxiliary air inlet means in the manifold to prevent lint accumulation in the manifold, delinting means comprising a removable perforated panel structure for trapping lint, the manifold having an exhaust side, said delinting means communicating with the exhaust side of the manifold means, the delinting structure including a bypass path for the air if the perforated panel becomes clogged, and means for selectively exhausting delinted air into the immediately surrounding atmosphere and into a conduit adapted to terminate at a predetermined distance from the apparatus.

4. A delinting drawer for drying apparatus, the drawer comprising a base panel having first and second ends and side edges, a central upstanding perforated panel mounted on the base panel, the central panel extending in a direction between said first and second ends and terminating a substantial distance from both of said ends of the base panel, and a transverse upstanding perforated panel mounted on the base panel and extending from the end of the central panel adjacent the first end of the base panel to'one side edge of the base panel, an air inlet area on the same side of the drawer as the transverse panel, means at the first end of the base panel for removably affixing thereto an upstanding non-perforated panel, the arrangement being such that with the non-perforated panel removed, lint laden air directed toward the central and transverse perforated panels will pass there through and over the first end of the base panel, but with said nonperforated panel afiixed to the first end of the base panel, such lint laden air will pass through the perforated panels and be directed in a direction other than over the first end of the base panel, there being an air outlet area on the drawer at the side of the panels remote from the air inlet area, the arrangement being such that air may pass over said outlet area when said upstanding non-perforated panel is affixed to the first end of the base panel.

HOWARD L. BOURNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 167,427 Blass Sept. 7, 1875 1,453,260 Adland et al. May 1, 1923 1,531,846 Cutter Mar. 31, 1925 1,624,650 Anfossi Apr. 12, 1927 2,172,603 Adams et al. Sept. 12, 1939 2,406,494 Ferris Aug. 27, 1946 2,486,058 Patterson et a1. Oct. 25, 1949 2,550,118 Kauffman Apr. 24, 1951 

